Fw: [AV Media Matters] open reel

[smolians@erols.com]

The issue to which a solution was suggested by by George McBride was that of
lubricating the tape recorder parts in the tape path.

The issue I thought he raised, projecting my own needs, was in locating a
liquid which would be reabsorbed by tape which has dried out- i.e., acetate
tape, wher the plasticizer is water vapor which evaporates over the years.
I have taken to storing such tape in a moderately humid atmosphere before
dubbing, as it absorbs humidity from the air- but slowly.  It can take 6
months or longer.  Of course, additional problems are introduced by scatter
winding and other features of a bad tape pack.  So I was looking for a
quicker fix.  Any out there?

This year I also ran into a translucent tape with an oily feel and which had
stickyj shed.  It yielded to baking.  I thought all non-acetate backed tape
was opaque.  Comments?

Steve Smolian

Moderators Comments:
I have on occasion used a product from the LAST company that is specifically
made for lubricating the tape path - similar to the Maxell product. My
recollection is that the product is supposed to put a very thin (as in
molecular thin) coating that allows the tape to move with less friction. I
tried it for audio as well as for video and got very mixed results with it.
The VidiPax process first cleans the tape very thoroughly - so the issue for
us  is reducing the left over stiction on some tapes that just do not
respond to our usual techniques. The video was a total disaster with this
product.... not only did it not work - but getting it OFF was a nightmare. I
might quickly add that the company had at that point not tested it on
video - so I was on my own and I knew it at the time... but what ever it is
that they use is really hard to remove.  I think that I had to resort to
acetone or something really harsh to get it off (maybe it was sandpaper...
ha ha).  On audio I had mixed results - the manufacturer suggests putting it
on guides as well as on the heads. On some tapes it seemed to have a good
effect reducing squeal and allowing the transport to do its thing without
much trouble. On other tapes there did not seem to be much effect.  I seem
to remember that I did NOT use it on the heads - the idea just scared me too
much - consider the effect on the gap of introducing an insulator - even if
it is microscopically thin.  I no longer have their address - but I am sure
that someone on the list has it.  I also seem to remember that the LAST
chemicals were quite expensive - but then again you do not use much of it. I
believe they have different varieties too. We have some of the Maxell
product, but frankly have not had time to properly test it.  The problem
with all of these things is that there are so many variables that have to be
eliminated to figure out what helped and what didn't. Some day we will do it
with the Maxell product - but I must say that I am a bit nervous after the
LAST experience (haha).

As far as lubricating the media itself - we do not do it - period.  There
are many reasons for this, many from an archival perspective and an ethical
one. We had our cleaning process tested in a joint project with the
Smithsonian materials lab, and we were very pleased that our technique did
NOT change the characteristics of the media - so we are not using a process
that changes or damages the original artifact which I feel is very
important.  I have also heard many horror stories of people trying
lubricants (mostly silicon) with disastrous results. Consider that my
understanding is that lubricants are added in tape manufacturing in the
binder mix itself in a suspension that is left after curing.  My
understanding is that it is not a supplemental coating after calendaring -
rather it is "in the mix". As such - any solvent of that type would not be
appropriate to use after the tape has long since cured. Also one of the
objections by the manufacturers to storage of tape below freezing has to do
with lubricant migration out of the tape in very cold conditions - so this
class of lubricant may not be a good answer.  I suspect that there are so
many types of formulations that coming up with a single lubricant that could
be topically applied to media in a general case would not be very
satisfactory - certainly not from an archival perspective. Any comments
George??

jim
Jim Lindner - President
VidiPax - The Magnetic Media and Information Migration Full Services Company
Telephone 212-563-1999
www.vidipax.com
Moderator of A/V Media Matters@topica.com